the Haumea stone
by diceflynn
Summary: A series of short stories revolving around the Haumea stone - Athrun/Cagalli-centric.
1. Chapter 1 - Cagalli

Standard disclaimers apply: i.e. I do not own anything to do with SEED/Destiny or its characters.

 **#1 – Cagalli (No.1)**

It was a week since Cagalli and the Orb forces had returned from the failed rescue mission to recover Kira. The disappointment was still acute, and while the rest of the country – including her father – remained occupied with the war Orb was now irrefutably entangled in, Cagalli was left unsure of her role in it.

On this grey afternoon, she found herself alone in the Attha manor, listlessly moving from one room to the next, until she finally drifted into her father's private study – her thoughts full of Kira, and another boy with midnight hair.

She sat at her father's desk. She felt diminutive and child-like sitting behind it – as though the size and might of the deep mahogany desk was a manifestation of the heavy weight of all the responsibilities her father had to carry. Responsibilities she was only just beginning to fully comprehend. It made her mind flit back to the whipping sands of the desert, the cerulean blue of the Red Sea, the tropical palms of that small island somewhere in the Indian Ocean, and for all the dangers she had encountered on this journey, how free she had been.

In prize position on the desk was a framed photograph of her when she was a toddler, looking up in awe at her father. Her hair was an ungainly mess of blonde tufts, her skin much fairer back then – she was not born to bask in Orb's searing sunshine. Uzumi's head faced away from the camera, but she could remember perfectly the sincere look of love he was giving his adopted daughter.

A glint of pink in the photograph caught Cagalli's eye. Even then, as a toddler, she wore the Haumea stone. A gift her father had bestowed upon her from the beginning, signifying that, despite their different bloodlines, she was a daughter of Orb and protected by the Gods.

They used to loop the leather chain around her neck twice to fix it on her tiny frame.

She absently reached for the familiar place where the stone normally sat in the breast of her collarbone, but of course it was no longer there. It was now around the neck of another.

It occurred to her then that gifting Athrun the Haumea stone was a rather impetuous thing to do.

A day had not gone by since she was an infant without the pendant around her neck. What would she tell her father when he finally, inevitably, noticed she no longer had the stone!?

Turning the chair to look out at the rainy Orb skies, she wondered where the stone – where Athrun – was now. Was he still on Earth with the ZAFT forces, or had he returned to the stars? Would it provide him protection as she had promised?

She briefly mused over whether Athrun had even kept it – she hadn't explained the history of the stone to him, and he could well have cast it aside thinking it was a gimmick. He probably had pretty girls giving him pretty things all the time. Cagalli darkened a little at that thought. But when she cast her mind back to her last meeting with the Coordinator, and the understanding on which they parted – which for all its bleakness, felt raw, honest, genuine – she was certain he still had it.

Yes, her father would be disappointed with her so willingly giving up the Haumea stone.

But she didn't regret it.


	2. Chapter 2 - Kira

**#2 – Kira**

"Kira. Who is...Haumea?"

"Haumea?" Kira pushed his eyebrows together, trying to recall. "She's part of the old myths and lore that the first people of Orb followed. Let me think,"

"She was the goddess of fertility. They say she gave 'birth' to Yalafath, the main island of Orb, and that she continues to offer protection to all those who live there,"

Athrun did not lift his gaze from the pink pendant in his hand. Kira had first noticed the gemstone around Athrun's neck a few days ago, post-battle following a skirmish with ZAFT, and now couldn't help but notice how he incessantly reached for it whenever he was thinking deeply (which was often, as Athrun was wont to do).

"Do people in Orb still believe in these gods?"

Athrun was unfamiliar with the scriptures and faiths of Earth. In the PLANTS, science was religion.

"Some do, particularly the older families in the homeland. Not so much in Heliopolis"

Athrun was quiet for a moment, as if unsure whether to press on with his line of enquiry. "Cagalli gave me this," he took the necklace off from around his neck and handed it to Kira. "She called it the Haumea stone,"

"She said it would protect me. I guess that makes sense,"

Kira paused, eyes widened, trying to comprehend the meaning behind the gesture of his maybe‑sister giving Athrun this pendant. He had gathered there was something between the pair that went beyond a brief encounter on board the Orb rescue ship. While Kira was distracted by many things these days, he was not blind to the way Cagalli was constantly alert and concerned as to Athrun's whereabouts and wellbeing; the way Athrun was easy, smiling in her company.

He remembered how broken Cagalli said Athrun was when Orb recovered him after their battle.

"I think this is amarite," he fingered the dark red stone in his hands. "It's a pretty rare material. The only known store of amarite on Earth was held by the Priestesses of Haumea, who worshipped Haumea in the old days. They say they mined it from underwater volcanoes which surround Orb. The Priestesses would have given this stone to her family centuries ago,"

Kira looked up at Athrun earnestly. "Cagalli must think a lot of you, to give you something like this,"

"Maybe," Athrun's face flushed red. He hastily snatched the pendant back out of Kira's hands, and seemed determined to not discuss the matter any further. "I better go and check on the repairs to the Justice…" he mumbled, disappearing out the hatch door.

Kira smiled a little, watching his friend go. He'd save telling Athrun that Haumea was also the goddess of love for another day.

 **A/N:** taking some liberty with Orb's history/mythology/geology...and borrowing more than a little from the traditions of Hawaii and Polynesia.


	3. Chapter 3 - Lacus

**#3 – Lacus**

Lacus helped Cagalli remove the wedding dress, peeling it off her body like dead skin. They put it in the Archangel's incinerator, letting out some weak, mirthful laughs as the soft white gauze of the gown vaporised into misty swirls of gas. As if the whole thing was one bad, terrible, tasteless joke.

And now they were alone, in their shared sleeping quarters. Lacus had been reluctant to leave Kira on his own, but he gently told her _I'm okay. Cagalli needs you more right now._ Some awful deceptive part of heart thought he was glad to have some space from her.

Cagalli was quiet now, staring mournfully at the ring on her fourth finger. It was quite a thing. "Let me see it, Cagalli," Lacus asked cheerily, hoping to lighten the mood.

Cagalli was momentarily stunned, then softened, and shyly held it out for her to see. "It's beautiful. And so unusual. I've never seen a stone like it before," Lacus said with quiet awe.

"It's amarite," Cagalli remarked softly, with a faraway look. "The same as the Haumea stone,"

Lacus thought of the opaque pendant permanently affixed around Athrun's neck and mentally compared it to the shiny, glistening ruby coloured gem on Cagalli's finger. "But they look so different!"

"The Haumea stone is raw. This stone has been polished. I have no idea where he would have got it from. I thought all the amarite reserves on Earth had been exhausted centuries ago," She smiled, admiring yet again the prettiness of the ring design.

Lacus didn't know where Athrun had got it either. Athrun had not shared with her – or Kira – that he was intending on giving Cagalli the ring. It was just yet another example of how disconnected they had become, after being so very close at the end of the Bloody Valentine war.

The truth of the matter was she had not been there for her friends. All her energy had been entirely focused on supporting Kira over the past few years, all the while Athrun and Cagalli were pushing, straining, fighting against hostile forces from within; fraying and unravelling, until they had seemingly allowed themselves to go along with unrelenting tides.

Athrun and Cagalli were the two strongest fighters, warriors she knew. And they loved each other so much. Lacus had assumed that would be enough, that they would look after each other, without needing much at all from her or Kira.

But here they were – Cagalli, stolen, hidden at the bottom of the ocean floor; Athrun missing and uncontactable somewhere far, far above them.

The bittersweet smile on Cagalli's lips suddenly disappeared, and she keeled over as if in extreme pain, letting out howling, wretching sobs.

Lacus dropped to her knees and wrapped her arms around her friend. "Hush, hush. Don't worry, you're okay. I'm here for you, _we're_ here for you," she whispered, her own tears starting to form.

For a moment, Lacus allowed despair to take over, letting herself fully feel her own misery at Kira's distance and slow recovery. What was the point of all they had sacrificed if this was where they would end up!?

But…the glimmering red gem caught her eye again…there was hope.

"Listen," Lacus gestured warmly to Cagalli's hand. "He is still here with you," Cagalli's breathing started to even out and she turned to face Lacus, tear-stained, watching and listening intently.

And then, as though she were a clairvoyant, Lacus had a perfect vision of Athrun looking wistfully down at the Earth from the PLANTs, the Haumea stone in his palm. She smiled widely.

"And you're still with him,"


	4. Chapter 4 - Meyrin

**#4 -** **Meyrin**

Lunamaria and Meyrin's Grandmere was a fierce and wily lady. Clotilde Hawke was the founder and chair of the family business – _Ordinteaur_ – a successful and lucrative artificial intelligence firm in September City. A handsome woman in her early seventies, she was known for her immaculate presentation, aggressive business acumen and whip-sharp wit.

And her granddaughters adored her. Luna and Meyrin jostled for Grandmere's attention at every opportunity. But in Clotilde's eyes, Luna always shone the brightest. It was not hard to understand why. After all, it was for all the same reasons Meyrin herself looked up to her sister.

Luna was athletic, outgoing, clever and pretty. The day Luna earned her stripes as a red-coat was a proud day for the whole family, but for Grandmere most of all. Her indigo eyes sparkled as she watched her granddaughter become an elite pilot of ZAFT, as strong and capable as any male soldier.

Meyrin graduated from the ZAFT academy the same day. Her most profound memory of the occasion – aside from Grand _mère_ 's pride at Luna's achievement – was the way her unflattering green‑coat uniform had ridden up around her full hips (as it was doomed to do everyday after).

That day wasn't all that long ago really – eighteen months? – but with all that had happened since it could have been another lifetime. Now, Meyrin wore an orange jacket with the insignia of a foreign land. She supposed she was an absconder, a traitor; to ZAFT, the PLANTS, her family.

And the reason for her treachery? A handsome boy. Grandmere would be furious with her.

For the millionth time, Meyrin pondered the actions she had taken to save Athrun. A boy she had never even had a conversation with, beyond perfunctory pleasantries.

She had to admit she became interested in him partly because Luna was. It seemed she would never let an opportunity slip to come second to Luna in another one-sided competition. _Well, Luna_ – she thought sardonically – _look who won this round_!?

But, unlike Luna, he was modest and reserved, like her. Admiring him from afar, watching him in quiet moments when he must have thought no one was looking, she got the sense he was trying desperately to live up to unseen expectations, and somehow failing. Like her. She would often catch him gazing searchingly at a pink stone in his hand. Always searching, searching, searching.

Every day since they escaped from Gibraltar had a weird dream-like quality to it. She wandered the corridors of the Archangel in a haze, trying to absorb all the things she was learning, things that sent her already upside-down world into a new beyond. They were all kind to her, but Athrun was the only thing that anchored her back to reality.

And then there was the Chief Representative. Gone was the young woman out of her depth on the _Minerva_ in her own ill‑fitting aubergine suit. Cagalli had led her forces to a hard-fought, brutal victory. She had defended Orb with her own bloodied and golden sword, reasserted her authority and dominion over her military and government, and she was now imperious. A Lion.

Meyrin had very little to do with Orb's leader since she had been retrieved from the sinking Gouf. She would have naturally assumed that her existence did not rate a dot on Cagalli's radar if Miriallia had not assured her in the medical ward of the Archangel that the Chief Representative would personally ensure her protection in Orb. A fact surprising and bizarre to Meyrin in equal measure.

And yet, just hours ago, the Chief Representative – in full military regalia and surrounded by an entourage of advisors – had sought her out and asked Meyrin to ' _look after him'_. And now, Meyrin stood on the lower outdoor deck of the Archangel watching the Chief Representative farewell Ms Lacus, Admiral Yamato and Athrun; chewing her nails, anxious and perturbed.

 _Look after him._ Who the 'him' was wasn't in doubt, but what in the cosmos did she mean? She could tell the Chief Representative wasn't quite sure herself when she said the words. Quite unlike the authoritative Commander-in-Chief briefing her armed forces moments before. Her voice had been soft and steady as she promised that she would pray to Haumea for Meryin's safety. But her eyes, while still kind, were mournful and distant, as though she had lost something precious.

"By Haumea…" she was brought back into the present by the surprised, but respectful, murmurs of the Orb soldiers surrounding her. As Meyrin's eyes flicked back up to the parting company, a small gasp of surprise escaped her own lips, even though the scene unfolding before her made sudden and complete sense.

Athrun broke out of standing attention, and boldly reached for the Chief Representative, bringing her purposefully into his arms.

Cagalli's eyes widened with surprise, then gently dissolved into quiet joy. She had not lost the thing she feared after all.

Athrun's face, meanwhile, was completely serene, almost unrecognisable. He had found what he was searching for.

Meyrin found herself smiling despite hot tears pricking in her eyes. It was a moment so intimate and personal; giving the briefest of windows into the complex motivations, choices and drives of these two people who had put everything else before themselves again and again. And, of course, there was an element of grief knowing that a future she had fantasised for herself could never possibly be.

She realised then just how much she missed her sister. Thinking of Luna, Meyrin recalled an exchange she'd had with her Grandmere after the graduation ceremony.

 _"My darling. You look very smart today," Meryin had cringed at Grandmere's compliment, knowing it could not possibly be true._

 _Clotilde appraised her younger granddaughter's hunched shoulders carefully, then sighed. "Our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good we oft might win, by fearing to attempt,"_

 _Meyrin blinked, confounded by whatever Grandmere was trying to tell her._

 _"Don't wait for things to happen, my darling. Make your own way," she patted Meyrin's arm, then walked away._

Meyrin clenched her small hands into fists, and smiled with determination towards the sky, the stars, the PLANTs. She had made her own choices, and she had been brave. And with whatever small amount of power she was able to wield, she would protect her sister.


	5. Chapter 5 - Athrun

**#5 – Athrun (No.1)**

Unlike its land-based counterpart, war in space was noiseless.

To prepare the elite soldiers of ZAFT for combat in this silent battleground, before being allowed in a mobile suit they trained in a simulator called "the Nox" – a soundless, lightless chamber where the gravity regulators of the PLANTs were rendered useless. It was specifically designed to deprive the young recruits of all their senses, challenging them to operate equipment without the benefit of any of their usual refined (coordinated) faculties. For their superior officers, it also served as a useful mechanism to separate the future red coats from the green.

Athrun excelled, of course, as he did at everything. But in the early days, he would still sometimes wake in the dark of night in a pool of sweat, fearful he had lost his hearing and eyesight.

The noise was subsequently one of the most shocking aspects of the destruction of Heliopolis, his first real experience with frontline combat. The screeching cacophony of metal and concrete breaking apart, the cyclonic rushing of air before the colony ripped in two, then nothing but graveyard-like silence. One of many things about the Battle of Heliopolis that his training at the ZAFT Academy woefully underprepared him for.

Space combat was not, however, without sound. Blood pounding in his ears. The short, sharp intakes of his own breath. The metallic growls of the inner mechanics of the Infinite Justice, and the electronic chatter of its control system. The crackling voices of his comrades – Lacus' voice, Meyrin's voice, Captain Murrue, Captain Waltfeld, Kira – over the radio transmission, his mind working fast to filter each voice from the next, seeking to pinpoint which directions were intended for him.

And the lights, the noisy, noisy lights.

He took a deep breath, clenching and unclenching his fists in his gloves. The battlefield was a mess, with the destruction wrought by the Neo-Genesis and the shifting allegiances between Earth Alliance and ZAFT forces making it difficult to tell who was enemy or friend. Every now and again he could make out the distinctive colours of the Strike Freedom and Akatsuki out of the corner of his eye, before they disappeared again into the inky void. Hovering over it all was the ominous spectre of the Messiah and its promise of destruction.

Finally, one voice cut through everything else.

"The Requiem is going to fire on Orb!" Kira screamed at him, linking directly to the Justice.

Everything slowed, and the chaos of the battle drained away. His hearing and eyesight faltered, just as they did in his nightmares after a training session in the Nox.

"Justice, Akatsuki – we estimate it will take ten minutes for the Requiem to be readied to fire again. You need to move now," Captain Murrue's voice followed, laced with the merest hint of desperation.

"But the Minerva…"

"There isn't any time Athrun!" Murrue cut him off. "Go!"

 _I can't be with you, but I trust you_.

Athrun lifted his eyes, thoughts clarifying. His senses returned, sharper than before. He maneuvered the Justice away from the Archangel preparing to launch an assault on the lunar canon.

Two GOUFs seeking to block his path were dispatched with quick ease with the Justice's beam saber. He marveled at how efficiently dangerous he could be when focused, and how comparatively ineffectual he had been at Crete, at the Dardanelles. Failing to live up to his potential as a soldier, leader, member of FAITH. Weak and indecisive, despite all the power it turns out he had.

A trio of Blaze ZAKU Warriors materialised in his rear vision, moving quickly at close quarters. He deftly utilised the Justice's boomerang to disable the three machines before they could seriously impede his way, followed by firing with his beam rifles. The explosion of light from energy batteries detonating caused the Orb Union crest on his pilot suit to reflect in the cockpit window.

It had been three long weeks since he had first put on the royal blue and white uniform of Orb. He had never worn it before; in his previous position as a bodyguard to House Attha he was not a regularised member of Orb's armed forces.

Of course, he had hesitated. The dark guilt in the pit of his stomach gnawed and growled as he slowly buttoned up the jacket. When caught sight of his reflection in a mirror though, he didn't loathe the image of himself staring back. Instead, the thick fog in his head lifted ever so slightly, being slowly replaced by something new, something purposeful.

And now he had a job to do as part of the Orb/Terminal forces. Stop the Destiny Plan. Stop the Requiem. Protect freedom and justice, protect Orb, protect her.

It was a first step, anyway.

Another rainbow blaze soared over his head, refracting and illuminating particles of debris strewn across the combat zone. The Archangel and Minerva had once again engaged in battle, circling each other firing beam cannons with desperate and fierce aggression, despite their close proximity.

Amidst this chaos, his thoughts turned to her – in Orb surrounded by her men and women, powerless to change the outcome of the battle above. Was she resigned to her fate being in their hands? She had desperately fought and clawed her way back to her position, her country…was it now strangely liberating for her destiny to be outside her control?

Fiery amber eyes stared back at him in his mind's eye. He smiled wryly. Not a chance. Cagalli Yula Attha would fight until her last breath.

"Once you are past the positron reflectors, launch the Fatum unit at the main energy core," Miriallia advised over the transmission, her voice both respectful and authoritative, as befitted a CIC of her experience. "Then get the hell out,"

"Got it," he grunted in response. It was not the first time he had been charged with destroying a weapon of mass destruction, but there was no question of him self-detonating this time. He did not seek out death. His hand reached for his neck where the familiar and ever-present pendant sat underneath his pilot suit.

A quiet whisper. _Come back_.

The Infinite Justice skimmed the lunar surface, finally reaching the edge of the cavernous mouth of the Requiem, which was starting to glow balefully. A shadow then appeared, falling over the Justice, levitating in his way. Lunamaria, the Impulse.

And just further beyond where Athrun could see, traveling at fierce speed, the Destiny.

 **A/N:** A quick thank you for the reviews so far. It's a little strange to be posting these when nearly 20 years has passed since SEED (yikes!), but it's been fun to return to for me and hopefully enjoyable for some of you out there. Just in a response to a few comments, the shorts – particularly this last one with Athrun – take a lot of inspiration from the Edge (which in my view provided some much-needed depth to GSD).


	6. Chapter 6 - Erica and Mu

**#6 – Erica and Mu**

"Cookie?"

"Eh?"

Erica pushed the plate of warm chocolate-chip cookies further towards Mu's face, snapping him out of his thoughts. "Home baked. I helped Ryuta make them last night. They are having a cake stall at his school today to raise money for the relief effort,"

Mu laughed. "I guess it would be rude not to," he reached out, taking three.

They were alone in a control booth overlooking a mobile suit hangar, deep in the bowels of Morgenroete. The _Archangel_ had finally returned from space after the ceasefire and it was time to return the Akatskui back to its rightful owner.

Erica was running a series of diagnostic tests on the mobile suit – her research assistants out in the hangar, monitoring various cords and tubes sending data back to the tablet in Erica's hands. Mu was there to provide an oral report on its performance, which was nothing short of glowing.

"Oi, what a magnificent machine! Although, not a bad effort on my part getting it back to the Princess in one piece, right?"

Erica arched an eyebrow and flicked through to find a specific diagnostic on her tablet. "See this? The Akatsuki doesn't look damaged, but between putting yourself in front of the _Minerva's_ Tannhäuser, and going straight through the Requiem's positron shields, you completely fried the Yata no Kagama armour. It's useless,"

Mu blinked, looking over the data. "Hopefully a quick repair job….?"

"Sure, provided the Chief Representative and her Cabinet are happy to approve $1.3 billion to redevelop the armour."

Mu could only put a hand behind his head and swear loudly with a grin.

Erica smiled, putting the tablet down. "Well, it was what the Akatsuki was designed to do – to give its pilot a sword, but also a shield to protect. I'm glad it was able to fulfill its purpose,"

Mu looked back at the Akatsuki. He had protected the _Archangel_ , hadn't he? A feat only made possible by this magnificent golden machine. It was generous – or insane – of her to entrust it to him, really. His mind ticked over, returning to his earlier musings.

"Still. It's a strange sort of legacy to leave behind for your daughter, isn't it?" he thought aloud.

Erica looked at Mu curiously but remained silent. He went on.

"Although, no stranger than leaving her a nation to run alone while still a teenager…or in a political engagement to a purple haired cretin…" Erica allowed the venom of those last words sink in without a fight.

"I'm sure if Lord Uzumi was alive that wedding would never have happened..." she replied eventually, but couldn't help feeling queasy.

Lord Uzumi's sense of loyalty and service to his nation was selflessly fierce, and he was noble to a fault. She recalled his final words to her during the First Battle of Orb – when the (suicidal) course of action he planned to take was set in stone. He commanded Erica to finish the Akatsuki, to keep it safe and secret until a day arrived where it was needed. The machine needed to fulfill the promise of Haumea to protect his wayward daughter, and she no longer had the Haumea stone to protect her.

 _And no longer had her father to protect her either_. She could still feel Ryuta's small hands wrapped around her own as she helped him scoop cookie dough on to a baking tray.

So she followed with words she knew with certainty to be true. "He wanted her to be happy."

Mu nodded his head in agreement at that, and their eyes inevitably drifted towards the other Gundam presently housed in the hangar.

The Infinite Justice stood commandingly to the right, prepped for launch, red armour gleaming. It had returned to Earth ahead of the _Archangel_ to help secure Orb's borders while the ceasefire was negotiated. They were keeping the machine here rather than at the military base on Onogoro because Morgenroete could better serve its maintenance requirements. Keeping it company was a trio Murasames from the M Special Unit of the Orb Defence Forces.

The hangar suddenly came alive, and a group of young men and women in pilot suits huddled at the base of the machines. Even from the height of the control booth, Mu could recognise the distinctive midnight hair and maroon suit of the Infinite Justice's pilot, who stood in the centre of the gathered Orb pilots leading a briefing.

"Are they going out to sortie?" Mu asked Erica, puzzled.

Erica shook her head. "Surveillance runs. Mostly to support re-establishing security at the border, what with the Earth Alliance being in shambles," She placed a hand to her cheek, her face taking on a look of motherly concern. "He's led at least 12 of these operations since returning from space. Kisaka can't stop him,"

"It does help with morale, to be honest. Not just for the military, but the broader population seeing that machine out and about, knowing it is here protecting Orb. But he's going to burn himself out,"

"It's not a choice for him," Mu said sharply, his tone dark. "Not for any of us fighting to earn our second chance," He looked down at his hands, which were gripping the chair in front of him so tightly his knuckles had gone white.

Erica watched him carefully. The man before her looked like Mu La Flaga, sounded like Mu La Flaga, and responded to Mu La Flaga's name. Murrue said he had fully regained his memories. But the way he moved from light to dark so quickly now...it was all going to take some time to untangle.

Erica placed a friendly hand on his shoulder. "And what about you Captain? Are you staying in Orb too? You know Morgenroete is always in need of test pilots with experience like yours…"

The darkness retreated from his features, and Mu's jovial countenance returned. "Yeah, I think I could get used to a life in Orb. Nice food, nice weather, nice beaches. I hear watching the sun set over the ocean is also pretty nice," He thought about who was back at a house by the coast waiting for him. "Yeah, I think I would like that,".


	7. Chapter 7 - Lunamaria

**#7 – Lunamaria**

The end of the war was all a fucking mess really. ZAFT and Earth Alliance forces decimated and clueless, flitting uselessly around the ruined carcass of the Messiah. Even with Lacus Clyne's melodic voice promising peace across the airwaves, nothing about it was beautiful. Nothing about it felt remotely joyful.

And Lunamaria was wiped. The only thing to do was sleep while the adults – which she and Shinn, as it turned out, were absolutely *not* – sorted it out. For weeks she slept for hours, exhausted, uncaring. Sometimes Shinn was there, sometimes not. Sometimes Meyrin, sometimes not.

Athrun wanted to take them back to the _Eternal_ after recovering them from the surface of the Moon, but they refused. Maybe it was petty or childish, but it was way too much, too soon.

So, he took them back to the _Minerva_ instead – the warship Athrun mere hours before was carving up with his pretty new machine. It was now a floating ghost ship, fatally damaged and without a Captain.

Arthur Trine granted Athrun permission to board without question, too preoccupied with trying to look after the rest of the crew, an odd determination on his face which Luna found almost laughable given the circumstances. The hangar had the atmosphere of a morgue as they disembarked; Yolan and Vino, ashen-faced and distracted, barely acknowledged their return.

No hero's welcome for them this time.

 _What happened to Rey?_ Shinn kept asking when they disembarked from Athrun's machine. _What happened to Rey?_

All Luna could do was look at Shinn sadly. She later reflected he may have kinda been a sociopathic clone, but Rey was still Shinn's friend. And hers, too.

But what had happened to Rey? And Captain Gladys? And the Chairman? What the hell happened on the Messiah!? No one could give them any decent answers. No one on the _Minerva_ had any time to care, or think, or question. They were just trying to keep the ship afloat, keep it functioning for long enough until the rest of the ZAFT forces could come and collect them.

Not even Athrun, who was there at the end it seemed, would give them an explanation. He didn't say anything in response to Shinn's maniacal questions about Rey, just escorted them silently to the _Minerva's_ medical wing, the one part of the ship still operational. The rest of the crew left them alone; it seemed no one had the energy or curiosity to even give a shit that Athrun Zala – that traitorous disappointment – was no longer dead. Even Shinn tolerated Athrun's presence, too preoccupied with the whereabouts of his missing friend.

When they reached the medical wing, they collapsed in a heap on a spare bunk. Shinn – consumed and paralyzed by every imaginable emotion – passed out immediately.

Luna surveyed Athrun, in his Orb pilot suit. He was going to return to Orb, he said. To her, the part left unsaid.

 _Guess you should be going then_ , _Commander_. She said to Athrun darkly.

 _Meyrin is on the Eternal._

 _Yeah, I know._ She looked away, a wave of toxic emotion bubbling up inside of her. _I'll find her later_.

Athrun nodded. He turned to go, but then paused for the longest moment, something inscrutable crossing his face (how unusual for Athrun Zala, she thought sarcastically). He reached inside the collar of his pilot suit and handed to her a pink stone on a leather rope. _For Shinn_ , he said, _for both of you. Someone gave it to me once to keep me safe. Let it keep you safe._

It felt like lead in her hand.

She stared at the stone intently, not looking up as Athrun quietly left, her heart thumping in her chest. She held it up above her head. From a distance it looked pink, but when the light shone on it directly it went blood red. A memory flashed through her tired brain. A memory of white limestone ruins. A blood red sunset. Tears on amber eyes.

Before Lunamaria Hawke knew it, she was chasing Athrun Zala back down the hallways of the _Minerva_. She yelled out his name to stop him from boarding and placed the pendant back in his hand. _If someone gave it to you, to protect you…it's not yours to give away_.

His emerald eyes crinkled. _See you soon, Luna_. She momentarily remembered why she was so attracted to him.

 _Sure._

He regularly checked in on them from Orb via Meyrin. But even Meyrin was busy – helping Lacus Clyne on board the Eternal. That is, the real Lacus Clyne. You know, the one the Chairman tried to kill. _The one you knew he tried to kill. And did nothing about._

Meyrin had been with the fake one when she died, taking a bullet for the real one, apparently.

Eventually they were collected from the _Minerva_ by ZAFT command, and like naughty, misguided children returned to Aprilius-One, where they were interviewed, assessed and immediately put on medical leave. With no one giving them any orders, they took up residence in a condo near military HQ, and went to sleep.

A few weeks later – or was it months? It was hard to tell – a news alert caught Luna's attention. She instinctively went to turn it off, but Shinn held her back. _Leave it on_. His eyes dark and unreadable.

Together they watched Cagalli Yula Attha shake the hands of one of the remaining senior members of the Supreme Council, signalling the conclusion of a ceasefire agreement between Orb and the PLANTs. Then, they rolled over and fell back into their interminable hazy slumber, which never succeeded in providing energy, purpose or direction, but what else was there to do?

Finally, one morning, maybe two or three months after the Battle of Messiah, Luna found herself rising early. She switched on the holographic window next to the bed and adjusted its settings to give her a view of outer space. The sun was just rising behind the earth, framing the planet with a white glow, before shooting light through the cosmos towards the PLANTS. It illuminated the satellites, the colonies, and floating debris in between like flowers, and it was beautiful.

She pulled the sheets off Shinn, and barked at him to get out of bed, to get showered, and to get ready to go.

 _Go where!?_ He looked at her wide-eyed and startled, hair sticking out every which way.

For some reason she immediately thought of the ocean – the real ocean, back in Orb.

 _Well, where do you want?_


	8. Chapter 8 - Murdoch

**#8 - Murdoch**

They'd called her the Goddess of Victory. More like Harbinger of Mischief and Migraines.

Kojiro Murdoch would never forget the first time Cagalli Yula Attha barged onto the _Archangel_ , prowled around his mobile suit hangar, surveyed with disdain the two skygraspers, and promptly told him in no uncertain terms that his artillery was a joke, his team understaffed, and not even Haumea could guarantee their safety.

After the battle in the sands and the Strike's victory over the Desert Tiger she was more subdued, but still flexed an iron will insisting the Captain grant her passage to Orb. Part of her pitch was that the very same goddess would give the ship protection if they took her on board.

Murdoch offered his view at that juncture that her deity was a contrary mistress and not worth the gamble. Turned out he wasn't half wrong with all that followed.

"I didn't know you even owned a suit!".

Which brought him back to now. Murdoch couldn't quite work out how he had landed an impromptu audience with Orb's Chief Representative, at a dive bar at all places. He ran into her by chance at Orb's defence headquarters in the capital, after interviewing for the top-secret clearance he needed for unrestricted access at Morgenroete.

Which he of course already had prior to the Second War, but under an alias as part of the half‑cocked solution the Captain, Cagalli and others had scrapped together to allow the _Archangel_ crew to stay in Orb _._ This time around the Captain was insistent that they do everything by the book. He even put on the suit for the interview at the Captain's direction!

Cagalli was leaving a briefing, surrounded by a mob of advisers, and yelled out his name so loudly everyone within a ten-foot radius jumped to the ceiling (including himself). She smiled gaily and demanded they get a quick drink; her next meeting was cancelled and she unexpectedly had an hour spare and knew a place nearby which would 'definitely' be his thing.

"Do you bring all your politician buddies here?" he asked, looking down the well-worn bar.

"Only the ones I really like," she grinned cat-like. "So, what happened to you after the ceasefire? It's been hard keeping track of everyone. I'm glad you all decided to stay in Orb again,"

Murdoch gave her a rundown of what he'd been up to, plus his observations on current events, which based on her amused cackles were worth a laugh at least.

For Cagalli's part she kept her cards close. When he complimented her on her success at wrangling the Orb government back on track, she shrugged and said "Thanks, I'm trying my best," and then a little more quietly "I'm still learning,". She wasn't giving him the political talking points, but was also no longer the open book she used to be.

He got the sense she was a little lonely.

Mind you – he thought looking over his shoulder at the unsettling presence of her grim-faced security detail – who wouldn't be with the company she was forced to keep. It must have been nicer when there was a friendlier face at her side.

"So, why'd you take the ring off?" he asked, offhand, during a pause in conversation.

She spluttered into her drink. "Wha-?"

Rumour and gossip spread like wildfire on the _Archangel_ , and it was a fact little known by the pilots and top brass, but the mobile suit hangar was the epicentre of it all. _This_ was a topic of conversation driven by a fondness for the key actors, but also a desperate need to keep some levity, some normality, in those dark final days of the war.

"The ring Zala gave you,"

Her eyes narrowed dangerously in a way that made him feel rather nostalgic, shadows of that passionate girl in the desert. "I don't see how that's any of your business," she retorted hotly, petulantly.

"Bull. It is my business. The crap I put up with all of you kids just doing my job. Miri, Elsman, don't even get me started on your brother," he wagged a finger at her. "So, why'd you take it off?"

She continued to stare, face blushing, wavering between raw fury and incredulity. Had no one bothered to ask her this before, he wondered?

Finally, Cagalli's eyes glazed over, and her voice went soft. "Kisaka used to say I tend to overlook what's going on around me,".

She toyed with the glass in her hands and curled her shoulders forward, morphing into a little girl before his eyes. "It was selfish, but I thought…if I was able to establish, prove myself, it would be okay," She straightened her back, and again was Chief Representative of Orb.

"I was wrong. He needed to find his own way. Independent of anything to do with me,"

Murdoch recalled the hot evening when Cagalli and the kid went to meet Zala at Crete. When they'd returned without him, both were darkly silent – no one had to ask to know it had been a disaster. The kid looked sad and regretful, but the girl. She really looked like she'd lost it all.

In many ways, she already had. Her father, her freedom, her reputation, her country. But now the last bit of hope she was holding on to was ripped out of her hands.

Murdoch knew that look, that feeling. She was heartbroken.

Catching the wounded look on his face, Cagalli laughed giving him a hard jab with her elbow. "I also didn't know you were such a romantic Chief!"

"It was a nice ring. Just seems like a shame," he pouted, rubbing his arm.

That was an understatement.

"Don't worry. I put it somewhere safe," she clarified with a small smile.

A few months later at the very same bar (she was right, it was up his alley), Murdoch watched Cagalli give a press conference on the screen, providing an update on the peace negotiations.

He'd seen Zala around Morgenroete, and while no one would give him a straight answer – not Simmons, not Kisaka, not the Captain, not even bloody La Flaga that usually indiscreet bastard – he thought he looked alright, so that had to mean something.

A brief flicker of colour caught his eye. He rose from his stool to get a closer look. He could have _sworn_ he saw a glint of pink and flash of silver against her collarbone, and nearly gave a whooping cheer.

Maybe he was a bit of a romantic after all.


	9. Chapter 9 - Andy

**#9 - Andy**

Andy itched for a coffee. Time could sometimes feel relative in the expanse of the PLANTs, but on anyone's clock it was well before anything resembling common decency. He noted enviously that his companion didn't seem to mind the early hour.

He stretched his arm ups above his head and yawned loudly. "Everything ready for next week then?"

"Hmm," Lacus confirmed with an elegant nod of her head. "My dress for the ceremony is ready, is there anything else to be worried about?"

Aisha would most definitely have agreed with that sentiment.

Andy swallowed a chuckle, as Lacus focused her gaze with solemn determination on the task before them. After all the time they had spent together, Andy was used to the way in which Lacus could disarmingly switch from Pink Princess to Regal Empress with seemingly a blink of her eyelids.

There was just one final act to be performed by Lacus in her informal role as Terminal's leader before she assumed the mantel of Chair of the PLANT Supreme Council.

"Is that everything?" she asked peering inside the cavity of the large steel chest. It was full of files, folders, hard drives, diagrams, notebooks, information discs and other research material.

Andy nodded. All the documents collated by Terminal in relation to the Destiny Plan, including the handwritten notes and journals of the Chairman himself. They were a character study: the earlier journals written as an assistant in the Mendel laboratory, youthful scrawl revealing an idealistic curiosity with the universe and how it worked; which hardened and became more precise and deliberate as his disconnected ideas coalesced and matured, shaping into something more visionary, more ambitious. You could almost see the machinations leading to the Destiny Plan between the lines, threads connecting the history of the notes, which perhaps Durandal himself didn't even see.

"You're good to go,"

Lacus placed her hand against the security pad, and the steel chest locked with a hiss. He would transport it back to Earth later today to keep in the custody of Terminal.

"Well," Andy said with a relieved sigh, letting go of a breath he didn't realise he was holding. "I can't say I'm displeased to be leaving you and Cagalli in charge of running the universe,"

"Are you sure? We've had some adventures," she said sparkling, fondly, and for a moment he almost felt inclined to change his mind, but the sentiment swiftly passed.

Lacus of course offered him a role in her new administration – it was the courteous thing to do, but they both knew he wouldn't accept. He wanted to return to Earth. Defying all expectation, he'd come to like it there. He felt closer to _her_ there. Even though he was going to have to get used to life as the third wheel in his living arrangements with Murrue and Mu…lucky it was a big house!

Besides, while it might no longer have its figurehead in Lacus, Terminal still had work to do. Andy would oversee its ongoing mission investigating what really went on at the Mendel colony, including tracking down former scientists of the abandoned research facility long gone into hiding.

The Destiny Plan was only a by‑product of the real work of Mendel. It was the birthplace of many other horror stories written in the name of good, including the elder La Flaga's vanity cloning project and, of most concern, Ulen Hibiki's zealous mission to design the Ultimate Coordinator. The consequence of Mendel's legacies getting into the wrong hands was not lost on anyone, but these were matters difficult for Cagalli and Lacus to formally pursue given the delicate nature of their positions. Not to mention their own personal vested interests. No, it was a project best handled covertly by Terminal.

While Lacus and Cagalli's clandestine agreement was that Terminal's mission was to understand and protect the past, not to influence the future; once or twice Lacus had confided to Andy that she was hopeful something good might come out of it to help address the ongoing reproduction dilemmas in the PLANTs. The birth crisis would be one of her key priorities upon assuming office.

Andy wondered whether Cagalli, or even Kira, knew Lacus' thoughts on this.

"Actually, there's one more thing…." Andy handed her a dusty A4 envelope labelled GARM R&D in faded block letters. "DaCosta found these when he was searching the labs at Mendel,"

"Shouldn't this be stored with the other files?" Lacus looked up at him questioningly.

"It's not strictly related to the Destiny Plan," Andy explained. "I think you should take a look,"

Lacus carefully retrieved the first two documents on pale blue sheets of paper, and let out an audible gasp. The text was faded, but the names Kira and Cagalli Hibiki were still visible in cursive script.

"These are probably the only official records relating to their birth," Andy observed.

"No," Lacus murmured, eyes not lifting. "There must be records in Orb too. How else did the Seirans know they were brother and sister?"

"Unless someone else told them. Someone with access to Mendel,"

Her lips formed into a perfect 'o'. Nothing further needed to be said. Just something else for Terminal to investigate.

Lacus methodically examined the rest of the documents in silence, before coming to the final item – a photograph of a young woman with familiar violet eyes. The photo appeared to have been taken at a spaceport, and she was waving enthusiastically at the camera as if to say goodbye.

Lacus smiled gently and delicately traced the outline of the woman's profile, her fingers pausing at the nape of the woman's neck. Her eyes widened.

"Thank you," she said at last, carefully placing the documents back into the envelope.


End file.
